Arsenal have just been rocked by the news that Kieran Tierney will be out for up to six weeks.
The Scotland left-back has suffered knee ligament damage and with the 23-year-old being such a big player for the Gunners, this is a big blow.
It’s not only a big blow because Tierney has been arguably Arsenal’s best and most reliable player this season, but also because they’re still in the Europa League and Mikel Arteta has no stand-out candidate to replace him.
Arteta and Edu loaned Ainsley Maitland-Niles to West Brom in January and given what’s just happened, that decision now looks a horrendous one.
Nobody would deny that Maitland-Niles wanted to leave, but the 23-year-old played a big role in Arsenal winning the FA Cup last season, with Arteta using him at left wing-back.
Tierney’s injury history was well documented even before this latest one, so by sanctioning Maitland-Niles’s loan Edu – who also loaned out Sead Kolasinac – effectively gambled that the former Celtic left-back would stay fit for the rest of the season.
But that has blown up in his face and Maitland-Niles would’ve ben the best alternative to stand in for Tierney between now and the end of the season.
Arsenal have options like Cedric Soares, who is a right-back, and Bukayo Saka who is much more effective as a winger.
Whatever way you look at it, Tierney’s absence could be detrimental for the North Londoners, but Maitland-Niles might’ve been able to soften the blow.
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